Monday, September 22, 2008

A reliable source and friend has told Queers United that Mike Rogers of Blog Active, in 30 minutes will present video of the Roy Cohn Award being delivered to Mark Buse, Senator John McCain's Chief of Staff and lobbyist on Capitol Hill who is a closeted gay person.

To hear the outing LIVE tune into The Michelangelo Signorile Show on Sirus Satellite Radio at 2:15 PM EST.

Video below of Mike Rogers delivering the award:

Home video footage of Mark Buse and his former partner:

Thanks to the hard work of Mike Rogers and Michelangelo Signorile for exposing this closeted gay man who is critical in helping anti-gay John McCain rise to power.

From what I can tell, outings like this are only sought after by gay groups when the person in question has been instrumental in creating, advocating, or implementing anti-gay policies. Normal people who are not actively trying to subvert gay rights are left closeted.

The question is whether or no this Buse person has *actually* done something to harm the gay community. Being a Republican isn't enough. Actively advocating against gay rights measures *is*. So, what, precisely has Buse done?

I think it is justified. Mark Buse was pro-gay rights till McCain basically made him shut up. He is McCain's chief of staff and a big time lobbyist. It is not enough to be the anti-gay politician to deserve being outed, but also to support them.

John McCain is against same-sex unions of any kind, pro don't ask don't tell, against gay adoption, against gay hate crimes legislation, etc. John McCain is anti-gay and those who support him who are gay are hypocrites.

I don't think it's justified. I think it's a tired ploy, and if this had happened to someone else, someone you didn't think deserved it, there would be outrage coming from everywhere. He may not be the best person in the world, but, he's still a person and he still deserves some basic dignity and respect for his humanity if not for his views.

I've always been against forced "outings." However, in cases where the person being outed is a pubic figure (and politicians and their high level bureaucrats are public figures) or someone who is in a position of authority that can influence and adversely affect the rights of any GLBT person and who actively campaigns against us certainly becomes fair game in the battle against discrimination.

Arguments of hypocrisy aside, they know what they're getting into when they place themselves in those positions. It goes with the territory.

In this case, because of who he is and what he has done to subvert our efforts, I totally agree with his outing.

When someone in power, in a government that is supposed to be representative, deliberately participates in the politics of repression -- that hypocrisy should be a matter of public record so that people who vote are voting on the basis of facts.

I don't understand the logic of selling your identity as a human being for a paycheck. It must be a pretty big check... but how much is a soul worth?

I agree with his outting. What if he were Obama's Chief of Staff? His being gay wouldn't get a second look. Because of his position in a party that is hateful towards LGBT people, his sexual orientation IS an issue. He's a public figure - he needs to live with the consequences of his choices.

He's not the only gay chief of staff for an outwardly-homophobic Republican Congressperson. Look at John Lopez, Chief of Staff for John Ensign, Senator, Nevada. What about the lead attorney for Mitch McConnell of Kentucky?

Head out to JR's in DC for an evening with a facebook of the Republican leadership. You'll find lots of apparently self-loathing men who are gay, who all work day in and day out to harm gays and lesbians.

alas, you who think it is HORRIFYING to have people know we are gay are SELF=LOATHING yourselves. There is nothing wrong with being gay, it is THOSE who HATE US who are WRONG! Gays are just another part of the broad spectrum ("rainbow") of humanity.

Who are these lowlives here who defend these republican scumbags with no morals who help the gay haters and then cry "its unfair to out" go fk yourselves. Gay people who help the anti-gay agenda,the gop,should always be outed,period. This scum want to enjoy all the rights they have because of liberals and dems and then they want to live in secret helpint the gay haters,that doesnt sit well with decent human beings,out every single one of them,and for conservatives gays ,you disgust me.

Larry, I was the one who used the word "horrifying", but you obviously read it incorrectly. I said SUPPORTING the public outing of someone not ready to out themselves is horrifying. I am an openly bisexual woman who outed herself years ago and am happy to be who I am and have everyone know it--that does not mean it is OK to FORCE that outing onto anyone, and I really don't understand why you would think it OK to do so.

That's sickening. How can anyone, let alone LGBT individuals, condone forcible public outings? It's a heinous breach of privacy, not to mention psychologically destructive and probable to ruin the outed person's livelihood - if not resulting in a request for resignation, then resulting in a psychologically harmful work environment. Would anyone support the forced outing of themselves or a loved one? Even if you do see him as being in the "enemy camp" and deserving of such a thing due to political involvement, this cannot be justified as granting personal information to those with a "right to know." There is no "right to know" when it is about something so integral to a person's identity, so personal that they alone should have the right to share that part of themselves with anyone else.

First off I am not the one who did the outing, I am merely reporting on it.

Second, it isn't about views. I am a progressive but have many times posted on my blog and will continue to do so about republican efforts towards equality.

People like McCain are anti-gay and anyone working towards a McCain administration who is gay is hurting the gay community. They deserve to be outed. This is a non partisan issue, it is a civil rights issue, and its fair game for any democrat or republican who helps anti-gay people.

Well Done! Mark ought to have been given this award and been given it publicly! You are absolutely correct to report it on your blog. I am going to report it on my blog. Mark is working hard to bring this HARD right with DADT, a marriage amendment to the US Constitution, no federal benefits for civil unions for SSM, no ENDA ... Mark IS woorking his ass off to hurt the LGBT community. His outing is proper!

Mark deserves his dignity. Please do not rejoice in outing people no matter what the moral duplicities their life lead us to beleive.We have to walk on higher ground. You taught me that Q.U. Consider yourself hugged.Love ya Q U!

If a gay person wants to actively work for a group that would like nothing better than to maintain gays as second class citizens with limited rights and even less dignity, then that person deserves all that comes their way. There is something to be said about making one's own bed and being forced to sleep in it.

I hate how complacent the queer community can be. Like, why do we have to understand that peple have "views" even though those views are hurtful and directly lead to incidents like Matthew Sheperd. Religious nut jobs like Palin teach their cult followers to hate and bring violence to gays. Anyone supporting their cause is really no friend of mine.

Pathetic! EVERYONE should have rights to privacy. How dare you set yourself up as God and OUT someone? I guess now you can OUT all of the closeted Democrats who've done basically NOTHING to help insure the rights of gay Americans. You're the same as the haters! NO DIFFERENCE!!! This man does NOT deserve it. May ALL of YOUR personal identity and lifestyle be BROADCAST to the WORLD!!!

Well, QU... looks like you took a beatin' for this one! And I was just heading over to thank you for making sure this information was accessible! You weren't the one outing this man... it is already out there.

Bridge thanks for your support. I understand outing is controversial within the community and I respect all sides of the issue. I sincerely from the bottom of my heart supporting outing for hyporites, and never for someone who isn't actively working to hurt the community.

Buse, regardless of his sexual orientation or gender identity, has deliberately promoted discrimination and violence against queers by being McCain's Chief of Staff. If Buse is indeed gay, he should be the subject of community wide sex/dating/socializing boycott. Why should we have anything to do with people who deliberately endanger us?

Any GAY person who supports the outing of another is a traitor. Reguardless of political affiliation. We have all been on our own journies and have had much pain. To celebrate the public outing of someone else, knowing what pain they will go through is horrible.

The fact that this blog and commentors celebrate that disgusts me.

If this is how queer people are going to act towards those who dont agree with them, then they are no better than those they oppose. And I will not stoop to that level.

Pomoprophet : It's not about hating homophobes for those people, it's about hating Republicans. They made a fuss about this non-story (which only proves McCain is cool enough to hire a gay man) and ignored Ahmadinejad visiting NYC, even though Ahmadinejad regular hangs homosexuals. The ONLY gay group in NYC to protest Ahmadinejad was the Log Cabin Republicans (i'm not Republican, but fair is fair), who co-sponsored the protests along with Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors. Most other NYC gay activists have turned into strange illogical children.